Emergency Dentistry Services in Port Macquarie
A dental emergency in Port Macquarie is never a welcome occurrence, but you can rest assured that the Port Pacific Dental team is here when you need us most. We understand how disruptive and traumatic the experience can be, and we prioritise treating you. Wherever possible, we will see you on the same day.
What Constitutes a Dental Emergency?
You can always follow one rule of thumb in any potentially urgent dental situation: give our team a call. We can guide you through the process.
Check for one or more of the following symptoms:
- Toothache, gum pain, tenderness, sensitivity, oral pain
- Chipped or broken teeth
- Knocked-out or loosened tooth
- Swelling or inflammation of the gums, jaw, face or neck
- Missing or broken fillings or crown
- Sudden tooth discolouration
- Damaged dentures
- Sudden changes to your oral health
If you or a loved one is experiencing one or more of these, we suggest calling our dental practice right away.
If you have significant facial or mouth swelling, or if your eyes, breathing, or swallowing are affected, you must immediately present to your nearest hospital emergency department.
What to Do in Case of a Knocked-Out Tooth
Some dental emergencies are time-sensitive and should receive urgent attention. If you have knocked out a tooth, first do your best to retrieve the tooth and call us right away.
Our dentists might be able to reimplant the tooth shortly after the incident. That’s why your immediate action may help save your tooth. Learn more about our tooth replacement options if the tooth cannot be saved.
Other Signs of Need for Urgent Care
Another condition that can become an emergency is an infection within your tooth or gums. Symptoms like swelling in your face or gums, redness, a generalised fever or a sour taste in your mouth may indicate an infection. We advise you to address any infections as soon as possible as they may worsen over time and generally progresses without treatment.
Prevention Is Preparation for a Dental Emergency
While it’s true many dental emergencies result from an accident or trauma, many of these situations are avoidable. Your first line of defence is exceptional home care combined with routine cleans and checkups. Our team can uncover progressing concerns such as tooth decay or gum disease during these appointments while they are less advanced.
Preventive dental care potentially saves not only time and money but can potentially also save your teeth. Read more about general dentistry services we offer to keep your oral health in top shape.
If you have dental anxiety, we offer sedation dentistry to help you feel comfortable and relaxed while we look after your smile. Everything from medication-induced sedation, relaxing inhaled gas sedation to deeper relaxation with anaesthetist-assisted sedation is available through our Port Pacific dental practice.
FAQ
A knocked-out tooth is a specific type of tooth damage that requires urgent care. Also called an ‘avulsed tooth’, you’ve suffered this condition when a permanent tooth comes out of its socket entirely but also intact.
Quick thinking and action are vital after a tooth gets knocked out because, in this circumstance, your dentist can save the tooth if you make it to our Port Macquarie dental clinic right away.
Step-by-Step Instructions for a Knocked-Out Tooth
Your main goal between the accident and your emergency dental appointment is to avoid damaging the tooth or the extra-sensitive root tissue. Here are our recommendations in order:
- Handle the tooth by the crown, avoiding contact with the roots.
- If dirty, gently rinse debris from the tooth with warm water – don’t wipe it off or dry it.
- Protect and keep it moist the tooth for transport:
- The best way – Reinsert the tooth into the socket and hold it in place with gauze.
- The next-best way – Hold the tooth in your mouth between your gums and cheek.
- An acceptable way – Place the tooth in a container of saliva or warm milk. Don’t let it bounce around inside the container.
- Call Port Pacific Dental immediately.
If our team can reinsert your tooth within an hour of the avulsion, then we have a good chance of saving it. However, if your tooth has broken into pieces, we can still stabilize your mouth and then offer tooth replacement options, some of which we may apply immediately.
The first thing to do when an accident impacts your teeth or a toothache gets out of hand is to call Port Pacific Dental as soon as possible. We can discuss your situation and help decide if urgent or emergency dental care is what you need.
Many conditions may qualify as an emergency. These include:
- Severe toothache
- Chipped or broken teeth
- A knocked-out tooth
- Missing or broken fillings or crown
- Tooth infection
- Sudden tooth discolouration
- Sensitivity
- Facial and gum swelling
- Denture repairs
- Wisdom teeth problems
- TMJ problems
Some dental emergencies, like a knocked-out tooth, are time-sensitive and need urgent attention. If you can, retrieve your knocked-out tooth and contact us right away. Your tooth might survive if we reimplant the tooth shortly after the incident. However, if too much time passes, successful reimplantation becomes more unlikely.
Many Dental Emergencies Are Preventable
While an auto or sporting accident may come out of the blue, some things that damage your tooth result from neglected maintenance. For example, a small cavity that goes untreated becomes a big cavity. In addition, early-onset gum disease called gingivitis, which is reversible with care, can become a full-blown periodontal disease that can even result in tooth loss.
Whether you need urgent care or want to help eliminate that possibility, we welcome your call to our dental clinic to arrange a dental appointment today.